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Over the weekend, New York State United Teachers delegates elected Richard Iannuzzi to his third term as president of the union, which represents 600,000 teachers, school-related professionals, academic and professional faculty in higher education, professionals in education and health care and retirees.

Iannuzzi is a resident of Smithtown, Suffolk County, and taught for 34 years in Long Island’s Central Islip school district. He was first elected NYSUT president in 2005 to succeed Tom Hobart, who headed the union for 33 years.

After Saturday’s election, told delegates that with attacks on unions across the country, “The road ahead will continue to be challenging. You know the issues and the challenges. … The battle will be fought here and won here. Not won or lost here, but won here. And that’s because of each of you and the work you do.”

His new term begins as New York has cut more than $1 billion in education aid to school districts. It comes at a time when there are 15,000 fewer teachers and support staff in the state’s public schools than two years ago, and districts plan to lay off at least 10,000 more employees in the coming school year.

Iannuzzi wasn’t the only incumbent re-elected to a three-year term by the union. Others are Andrew Pallotta of New York City, executive vice president; Maria Neira of New York City, vice president; Kathleen Donahue of Hilton, Monroe County, as vice president; and Lee Cutler of Newburgh as secretary-treasurer.

Iannuzzi will begin his latest term at a critical juncture for the labor movement, as issues like collective bargaining and seniority are under attack nationwide, and as public K-12 and higher education in New York struggle to cope with the devastating effects of more than $1 billion in cuts by state government.

More than 3,000 delegates, staff and visitors attended NYSUT’s annual Representative Assembly, its 39th. Delegates debated more than 50 resolutions and passed measures that seek to enhance public kindergarten through grade 12 education and higher education, improve workplace conditions, and expand access to health care and other benefits for active and retired members.

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Capitol Confidential gathers the best coverage of New York politics and puts it all together. Each section - Capitol, The State Worker, New York on the Potomac, and Voices - represents a unique facet of the political scene. The Capitol section features coverage from the Times Union Capitol bureau. The State Worker is dedicated to state worker issues. New York on the Potomac offers news of interest to New Yorkers from Washington. And Voices features the best of everything else, pointing you to columnists and bloggers from across the Web.